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Time Scanners

Time Scanners

With cutting-edge technology that can “read” buildings, ruins and landscapes from ancient worlds, TIME SCANNERS reveals physical and forensic history, allowing viewers to reach out and touch the past. Paving the way for an exciting new approach to documentary filmmaking, new laser technology explores the world’s most iconic sites in a way never before seen, surprising even the experts. Steve Burrows, one of the world’s foremost structural engineers – and the brains behind the famous Bird’s Nest Stadium in Beijing – leads a team of investigators, including pioneering laser-scanning researchers, to unlock the secrets of the world’s greatest engineering achievements. Hosted by Dallas Campbell (“Bang Goes the Theory”), each episode provides unprecedented answers to the scientific secrets behind the historical landmarks.

TIME SCANNERS premieres with “Egyptian Pyramids” on July 1. The team travels to Egypt to scan the pyramids — the tombs of the mighty pharaohs — to find out how the necropoles evolved from simple mud-brick structures to the most impressive buildings in the ancient world. They use their laser technology to scan Djoser’s Step Pyramid at Saqqara, Meidum’s collapsed pyramid, the mysterious Bent Pyramid at Dashur and the famous Great Pyramid at Giza, and finally establish the true location of the King’s Burial Chamber in the Great Pyramid.

On July 8, Burrows takes his team of experts to “St Paul’s Cathedral” in London, famed as the location of the marriage of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer. They venture inside the majestic dome to explore its groundbreaking three-part structure; determine how the cathedral’s architect, Sir Christopher Wren, overcame unstable foundations and immense structural forces to support his dome; and investigate how the cathedral survived a direct hit by a German bomb during the London Blitz. The laser scans produce genuine revelations and give the team new insight into this iconic architectural masterpiece.

The final installment “Petra” premieres on July 15 with the team of laser-scanning experts venturing to Jordan to scan the ancient desert city of Petra. Using 3D laser-scanning technology, Burrows wants to uncover the city’s construction secrets and shed new light on this architectural wonderland lost to the West for more than 1,000 years. How did Nabatean stonemasons carve Petra’s largest building – the Monastery – out of a mountainside? And what lies hidden underneath the city?